Arpaio, Thomas are abusing power

The charges against Maricopa County Supervisors Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox and Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe will eventually be resolved by our courts.

Whatever the outcome, however, it will not repair the tremendous damage being done to the entire justice system by the manner in which these investigations and prosecutions are being handled.

We are a nation that prides itself on its system of laws. My brief involvement has led me to conclude that what is transpiring now in Maricopa County is wrong and a disservice to the citizens of our state.

On April 1, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas requested that I take from him the criminal investigations and prosecutions involving members of Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.

I agreed. For the next six months, I worked with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on the cases.

On Oct. 6, I returned all the matters to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, except the matters on appeal, and have had no further contact with either office on these matters.

I was happy to remove myself from the cases and from contact with Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

My discomfort grew daily and my role in restraining potential abuses of power increasingly more difficult. It was a relief to package up the files and return them to Maricopa County.

Maricopa County is not my jurisdiction, but I can no longer sit by quietly and watch from a distance the abuses of power by Sheriff Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

I am conservative and passionately believe in limited government, not the totalitarianism that is spreading before my eyes.

The actions of Arpaio and Thomas are a disservice to the hundreds of dedicated men and women who work in their offices, and a threat to the entire criminal-justice system.

Peace officers and prosecutors take an oath of office that is sacred. We swear, under God, to support and defend our Constitution and our laws against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We also swear to "impartially discharge the duties of the office."

Our power, granted to us by the people, is not a personal tool to target political enemies or avenge perceived wrongs.

Prosecutors are ethically bound to refrain from prosecuting a charge that the prosecutor knows is not supported by probable cause.

In maintaining public safety, each of us is tasked, by our oath, with protecting the rights and privileges of the least among us. Everyday, in every single thing we do to keep our communities safe, we must respect the rule of law and the protections set forth in our Constitution.

Abdication of these responsibilities causes erosion of confidence in law enforcement and our communities become less safe.

Law enforcement and prosecutors throughout the state have been my second family for the past 26 years and I am proud of our profession. We are a brotherhood (and sisterhood) and we must hold each other to the highest of standards.

Our vocation is to seek justice. When one of us forsakes our role as protectors of the Constitution, it is up to the others to call him out.

Andrew Thomas and Joe Arpaio have strayed from their constitutional duties.

They serve at the pleasure of the people.

Every citizen should be concerned about the ongoing damage to the rule of law.